Fallen Angels
by MsExpendable402
Summary: After the outbreak, I was forced to run and hide. Living in the woods with my dog and scrounging what supplies I come across. When I heard about Atlanta being a safe haven, I headed there. But I got there in time to see the streets get napalmed. With hope diminishing of finding anyone else alive, I run into an old flame. Daryl Dixon.
1. The Whole World went Away

_**Disclaimer: I only own Grace Riggins. I do not own anything else. See profile for explanation of why this is republished.**_

_It was a hot summer morning. My father was pissed at me for sneaking out of the house a couple nights ago. I was grounded again from having fun. Seriously-It's summer? It's already fun not having to deal with school, but hell no I wasn't sitting around the house bored all day. So I did what any seventeen year old girl would do, I snuck my way to the beach._

"_Grace! You made it!" Squealed my friend, Angie._

"_Yeah, had to ninja sneak out of the house." I laughed as she gave me a bear hug._

"_Can you believe it? We're going to be seniors this year!"_

"_Yeah, can't wait to kiss that school goodbye."_

"_I know, you want to leave this town in the rearview."_

"_More or less, just the house I'm held prisoner in."_

_Angie laughed, always thinking I was being overdramatic. But she doesn't know the shit I go through day in and day out with an asshole for a father. Father? Hell, he ain't been one since before Mama died from cancer._

"…_..Earth to Grace!"_

"_I'm sorry? What?"_

_Angie gave me a sore look, "Where do you go in your head? I swear I was just talking to a brick wall!" She rolled her eyes at me. Sometimes I wonder why we were best friends. I love Angie to fricken death, but there were moments I seemed to be worthless to her. We had settled on a spot in the sand. Angie's mouth going a hundred miles an hour and I secretly wishing I had some duct tape. I looked up in time to see Angie's boyfriend, Mark walk up with his friend. "Hey, there's my girl."_

"_Hey baby!" Angie jumped into his arms and kissed him in a way that reminded me of a corny romantic movie. I had to turn my head, trying my hardest to keep my lunch down. "Kyle, you know my BFF, Grace."_

_OF COURSE HE KNOWS ME YOU MORON! I screamed in my head. Kyle has had a crush on me as long as I can remember. But there was something about him that made my skin crawled. "Hey Kyle." I whispered._

"_Hey." He stammered, "You look very pretty today."_

"_Thanks." I half growled. I noticed Angie seemed to be nudging Kyle._

"_Ask her." Angie attempted to mouth._

"_Grace," Kyle cleared his throat, "Would you be my date…"_

"_No I'm not going to Homecoming."_

"_Why not?" I could tell he got aggravated._

_I didn't have an answer, and I didn't really care of whether or not he believed me. Feeling severely uncomfortable, I got up and stormed off. I was the resident social outcast at school. No guy talked to me, let alone asked me to the dance._

"_GRACE!" yelled Angie._

"_WHAT ANGIE?"_

"_What the hell was that?"_

"…_.You was there. I'm sorry; do I need to spell it out for you?"_

"_I was trying to do something nice!"_

"_What? Play matchmaker?" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see we had an audience. A guy was standing outside of the auto repair on a break._

"_You haven't had a decent date since that shithead broke your heart…."_

"_Yeah, and who was that hooked me and Colin up?"_

"_Ok, yeah that was a bad call. But Kyle really likes you….."_

"…_.Kyle gives me the damn creeps!" I screamed at her, "If you were indeed my BFF, you would know!" Wow, this was spiraling out of control fast. Angie had nothing to reply with but a right hook to my face._

_I was knocked onto my back, holding where she had just clocked me. "….What a bitch!" She yelled so everyone and their mother can know. After she left, I sat up slowly. "You okay?" a voice said behind me. I turned to a scrawny boy, somewhat older than me. His dark brown hair seemed to stand in all directions. He saw the purple/blue tinting around my eye. "Ouch, she had one helluva punch."_

"…_Are you done admiring?"_

"_Sorry," He held out his hand to help me up. When I stood, he was right, Angie does pack a punch. I felt my world spin for a second. He could see I was feeling bad, "…Are you alright?"_

"_I think so." His eyes had me almost entranced, they were so gorgeous! "I just don't know how I'm going to explain this to my father."_

"_I take it he doesn't know you're here."_

_I laughed; this boy was reading me like an open book. "No he doesn't," I found myself stammering, trying to find my words. "Uh, I was grounded." Best way to put it without going into the shit he puts me through._

"_Come on, I'll get you some ice for your shiner." He started to head to the auto shop. I suddenly realized he was the one watching._

"_Nah, I should get back. Thanks for helping me up."_

_We parted ways; I was almost out of earshot when I heard, "Hey, what's your name?"_

"_Grace."_

"_I'm Daryl."_

I woke up in a daze. My head throbbed, and I could feel blood dripping from a cut on my lip. Felt like the all too familiar beatings my father would give me for no reason. Slowly I had remembered the world I knew is gone. This new world was strange. It's a world where the dead walks. "What the hell?" I muttered as I noticed the ground was spinning below me. Looking up, my foot was wrapped tight with a rope. "Sonuva..Bitch."

"Well, your trap caught somethin' but it ain't edible." Said someone coming up from behind me.

"Kiss my ass." I retorted to the voice.

"Ooo. She's feisty!" Said a dark curly haired man, holding a shotgun. "You don't hunt much do you?"

"I do. Just didn't expect anybody else to be this far in the woods; especially setting up critter traps." I pointed to the rope on my ankle. "Do you mind?"

"No problem, Ma'am." The dark curly haired guy said like a smartass. He cut the rope and I fell. I almost landed on my head, but arms shot out and caught me. When I looked to see who it was, I froze.

"Daryl?"

He froze in place, "Holy shit…..Grace?"

The other guy was looking at us suspiciously, "You two know each other?"

"Old friends." Daryl had retorted.

_Old friends?_ Daryl's friend still stood there staring at us, "I'm sorry, do you guys want a room?"

"Shut the hell up, Shane." Daryl glared at him. "Give me your first aid kit." Shane seemed to protest.

"It's alright, my camp's not far. I have one there."

"Yeah, well it was my trap that caught you. At least I can do is patch you up."

"Fine, if you insist." Shane relinquished his bag to Daryl.

"Y'all can stay here. I want to find something besides squirrel for dinner." Shane said as he stomped off.

Daryl began to clean the cut on my lip, "What the hell are you doing way out here?"

"I was on my way to Atlanta before it was napalmed." I checked my ankle. "It's just me and my dog."

"You and a dog?"

"Yeah. He's a wolf pup." I smiled at the memory of finding him on my way home from work, "Named him after the dog in Lost Boys."

Daryl scoffed, "Go figure."

"He's roughly 6-7 months. Nanook's out hunting for himself something to eat."

Daryl finished bandaging my lip. "There you go. Is there any other cuts?"

"I don't think so." We both got up and dusted off. "Thanks Daryl."

"Don't mention it…."

I picked up my quiver and bow. Daryl picked up his crossbow and started to head in the direction Shane went. I was about to ask him about his camp, but I figured I took up enough of his hunting time. So I turned and headed back to Nanook. "Hey Grace," I turned and Daryl tossed a squirrel to me, "Watch out for more of my traps."

It was almost dark when I found the familiar clearing. I had rigged up the perimeter with rattling cans. Nanook laid near my fire pit with what looked like a squirrel. "Honey, I'm home." Nanook jumped up and ran up to welcome me home. I flopped onto my hammock, running my fingers through my blood red hair. _I would kill for a hot shower._ Hell, I would kill for life to go back to normal. Nanook laid his head into my lap and started to whimper. Like he knew I was hurt. "It's okay boy. Just a scratch I ain't gonna turn into a geek." I patted his head.

I don't know how I managed to sleep. But sleep came so easy, and the familiar memories of my favorite biker with angel wings on his vest.

A couple days passed, and I still had Daryl in my head. "What the hell is wrong with you, Grace?" I whispered as I tried to not scare a deer away. The deer kept coming closer to me, so I finally aimed him into my sights. "Come on, a bit closer." He finally turned, and I took the shot. "Bulls eye!" I had said just as the deer dropped.

"What the hell?" There was a pause, "Alright who did that?"

I looked to my right, and sure enough. There was Daryl, "Fancy running into you again."

Daryl growled, "Jesus, you scared the piss out of me." I climbed down the tree I was hidden in. Daryl gave me a small smirk, "How's the lip?"

"It'll live." We walked up to the buck. Daryl looked almost bummed.

"Damn, you're gonna feast like a king tonight."

"You take it." I shrugged.

Daryl turned to me. Probably wondering why was I being so damn nice. "…You sure?"

"Yeah, think of it as a gift for coming to my rescue the other day." He chuckled.

"Well, if you help me carry it back to my camp. I'll give you a couple pieces of meat for you and Nanook."

"Alright, it's a deal." I took the rope from my bag and tied the buck's legs so it would be easier to carry.

"You still remember."

"Yeah, it's what happens when I learned hunting from the best." I shot him a wink as he shook his head.

"Yeah, that was some good times." He picked up one of the tied up legs as I prepared for a long haul.

"So how's your brother?"

Daryl just shook his head, "He left this morning with a group to get supplies from Atlanta."

"Atlanta?!" I almost shouted, "Are they insane? It's overrun."

"A guy in the camp is a gopher. If you need it, he can find it." Daryl stopped to take a break.

"Ah, must be nice." I chuckled.

Daryl looked at me, "What happened to your family? Why is it just you and a dog?"

I looked at him solemnly, "I don't know." He shot me a look that I should explain, "I haven't seen my father or my sister since before my 19th birthday. I found Nanook roughly 8 months ago."

"That dog better be glad I didn't find him." We both laughed. I knew where he was going with the conversation.

"You're disgustin'." Daryl looked ahead and saw Shane glaring at him.

"Home sweet, home." Daryl shouted. "Dinner has been caught." The other campers gave a whoop and holler.

"Way to go Daryl!" Said some little boy.

"Come on, help me hang him. And I'll get you the meat I promised." Daryl said to me.

Shane stalked up to Daryl and grabbed him by the arm. "What the hell were you thinking bringing her _here?"_

"Hey, ease off." Daryl stared down Shane. "We were aiming at the same deer. She hit it, and said I could bring it back here. And I don't think I woulda made it back here this fast without her."

Shane flipped to me, "Get your meat and get out."

"Yes'sir." I saluted Shane. When he turned his back my hand came down and I immediately flipped him the bird. I turned to Daryl who was laughing, "What?"

"Nothing," He chuckled.

It didn't take Daryl long to gut the deer. A woman named Lori brought me some fresh cloths to wrap the meat in. "Thank you. Much appreciated." "I smiled. Daryl gave me a look like he wanted me to stay. "I better go, Nanook's probably getting worried." He just nodded as I heard a voice, "Who's Nanook?"

I turned to this boy questioning me like a cop, "He's my dog."

"You have a dog!"

"Yeah, he's part wolf. I found him just before the outbreak. Someone left him for dead on the side of a road."

"Awe! Will I get to meet him?"

Daryl rolled his eyes, "Now you get to see what I get to deal with."

"It's okay." I turned back to the boy, "Maybe. It all depends if Daryl would want me back."

The boy turned to Daryl and began to beg, "Daryl! Please bring your friend back for another visit! Or I can talk to Shane and see if he can let her come and stay with us. Even let Nanook come too!"

"Shane would listen to you?" I interrogated back.

"Yeah, he's my friend. Was my Dad's partner, they were both cops." The boy's mouth seemed to not have an off button.

"Hey kid," Daryl interrupted the boy, "Go back to yer Momma." I looked over and could tell Daryl seemed embarrassed.

"I better get anyway." I turned to the kid, "It was nice meeting you…"

"Carl!" He took off towards an RV, "Don't be a stranger Grace!"

I stood and wondered when he heard my name, "Thank you very much for the meat."

Daryl seemed to blush again, "No problem." He whispered.

When I got to my clearing, a twig snapping brought me back to earth. _Shit. _I set the meat on my hammock and picked up my machete. Readying for whatever geek or walker was heading my direction.

Only to be met by a shovel swinging at me from out of nowhere; knocking me out cold.

_HELP ME DARYL!_

"Come on darling. Wakey wakey!" Said a disembodied voice. I woke up slowly, everything was blurred and I was nauseous as hell. My head lolled around, and I could make out that my arms were tied above my head. The rope was holding me just off the ground. It was dark; I could only make out shadowy outlines of thieves from the torches.

"Take…Whatever food you want."

"We're more than happy to do that. But first, we want to know where you got the deer meat from?"

"….From a deer."

Someone laughed, "Woo Wee Boys. We got ourselves a live one." He grabbed my face and brought it closer to his. "Now darling, I don't wanna hurt you. All I wanna know is where did you get the deer meat from? Was it from another camp?"

"I shoulda traded for some breath mints to give to your stinky ass." He smirked as he raised a fist and clocked me across the jaw. Another guy sucker punched me in the ribs. I coughed, attempting to breathe."…It was a tiny deer..."

"…Wrong again pretty lady." They worked me over again. "We know it was a pretty big buck you shot. What we don't understand is why you would not bring it back to your camp?"

I spat some blood at the leader of the group, "Well that's for me to know; and you to….Nah, you'll never find out." The group seemed to of had enough with me.

"Well gentleman, I think it's time to put her out of her misery."

"Awe, come on boss…."

"Can't we have a little fun first? She's the first we've seen in a while!" I suddenly felt a hand began to grope me. _God strike me down now, please! _"This is gonna hurt." One of the men whispered into my ear.

I began to beg and hoping for the unconscious abyss to take me again. Slowly feeling myself drift away, I heard a whoosh. Trying to look with swollen eye, I could see an arrow was sticking in one of the captor's neck. "You deserve that, you bastard." I had whispered. The other two guys were watching for where the shooter was at. Another one dropped with an arrow to the head. The leader pulled out a knife and held it to my neck, "Come out whoever you are!" He ducked behind me so I would shield him.

"Leave her alone! If you walk away now, I'll let you live!" I heard a voice from some brush.

"And I said drop your weapon, and come out." I heard a something heavy being tossed to the ground. Slowly a figure came out into the clearing, "Alright, is there anyone else that should come out?"

"No, it's just me." I suddenly realized it was Daryl.

"Now whatcha gonna do hotshot?" I mouthed off.

The maniac just stood there, "That's a good question. I should kill off your white knight here, and take my time killing you."

"Someone's off their meds." I muttered.

"What was that pretty lady?" He cut the rope and started to walk us backwards.

"I said," While I kept him in suspense, I took the chance to fight him for the knife. The captor punched me in the ribs. I dropped to the ground coughing. Another whoosh sound from above my head. I turned to see the captor dropping to his knees with an arrow to the eye.

Daryl approached me slowly. I looked around the best I could, "What they take?"

"…Hard to tell. Looks like there were more guys. So somebody is going to be heading back this way." Daryl walked over to the hammock. "Looks like your bag is the only thing they didn't mess with."

"Dammit. They got my weapons?!"

"Well I see your bow. But if you had anything after that, looks like it's long gone."

I tried to get up, but fell back down. "Hang on," He ran up to me and helped me to my feet. I almost fell again but Daryl caught me, "Steady." He slung his crossbow on his back, grabbed my bag and held his arm out. "Lean on me, and I'll get you back to camp."

As we began our trek, I happened to see Nanook coming back. I let out a whistle, "Come on boy." Nanook trotted up beside us. He never growled at Daryl, just followed along back to the RV group. We were halfway there when I began to feel myself go limp.

"Grace….Stay with me." I could hear the panic in Daryl's voice. His voice was more distant sounding every step. I tried to answer, but I couldn't find my voice. "GRACE!"

I woke up on a bed; an actual freaking bed! I looked around and beside me was Nanook. "Hey boy." My voice was hoarse and cracked.

"Good. You're awake." Lori said as she walked in the room. "Daryl was getting worried."

"We made it to camp? When?"

"Early this morning." Carl said bouncing in, handing me a bottle of water.

"Where is Daryl?"

Lori looked freaked, "You missed quite a fight this morning." She went into about Daryl's brother being left on a roof in Atlanta.

I almost spewed water everywhere. "Your husband got a death wish?"

Carl looked at me like I just damned his father to hell. "What do you mean?"

"I haven't known many people to cross Merle Dixon and live."

Lori stared, "How do you know the Dixon boys?"

I froze, "Daryl and I were best friends a long time ago."

"It wasn't more?"

A distant memory of our drunken one night stand passed through my mind, "Nah. Never more than friends. What's with the twenty questions?" I was becoming disturbingly uncomfortable.

Lori chuckled. "Why don't you run and get Grace some of that meat her and Daryl brought in yesterday?"

Carl turned and took off, "When I was patching you up, what's with all the scars?"

I found myself acting like a scared schoolkid who got caught cheating, "You seen'm?"

"You look like a human voodoo doll. They're kind of hard to miss."

"I didn't exactly have a nice upbringing." I snapped at her as I checked to see if I was covered up.

Carl came in with some of that deer meat. "Grub time. I even brought some for Nanook." He was all smiles.

"Thanks Carl." I said. Lori got up and I glared at her.

"Is it okay if I take Nanook out for a run later?"

"Sure. He'll probably wanna stretch his legs." I grabbed my bag and found Nanook's favorite ball. "Here."

Carl beamed with excitement. "I never had a dog." Carl whistled, "You wanna play boy?" Nanook jumped and thrusted his butt into the air. Carl laughed, "What is he doing?"

"That's to let you know he wants to play."

Carl laughed as he took off outside with Nanook right behind him. As slowly as I could, I walked outside to join the rest of the gang.


	2. The Way Life is Now

Later that night, I sat with the others around the fire. We all were pigging out on the fish Andrea and Amy had caught earlier. Everybody was gabbing about silly memories. I however, had my mind reeling with where were Daryl and the others.

"I gotta ask Dale. Why do you still wear a watch?" Morales chuckled, "Kind of pointless isn't?"

Dale laughed, "Keeping time is important. Right?"

We all laughed at the idea. "Really Dale?" I asked. Dale then quoted some old writer.

_What the hell did he just say?_ Amy sat there looking at him like he was an idiot. "You are so weird!"

We all laughed at that. "All right, so I gave a bad paraphrase."

Amy stood up; Andrea shot her a look, "Where are you going?"

"I have to pee." Amy shot her a look back, "Geez."

_Daryl, you better be on your way back. Do not leave me alone with these people._ I chopped up the last few bites of my fish and sat my plate down for Nanook to eat.

"So, Grace. What did you do before the dead rose?" asked Jacqui.

"I was a security guard."

Shane gave me a look of curiosity. "Seriously?"

I nodded. "Why? What type of job did you think I was in?"

"Something girly, what else?" He shrugged. I found myself wanting to punch him even more. As I rolled my eyes, Amy stepped out of the RV. She said something, but before I could form any kind of response. All hell broke loose at the sound of Amy's scream. Andrea turned in time to see a walker take a chunk out of her sister's arm.

I jumped up and tried to grab my bow and quiver. However in the midst of chaos, someone slapped it out of my hands. It landed into the fire. "SHIT!" I grabbed the knife out of my boot.

Shane jumped grabbing his shotgun, "Grace, help me protect Lori, and the kids."

I grabbed Carol and threw her behind me. "Stay close! Stay close!" I kept chanting. One walker came straight for one of the kids. I quickly reacted and stabbed it in the eye.

"Shane! What do we do?" cried Lori.

"Move towards the RV." Slowly we moved as a group. I saw a walker trying to sneak up on Morales.

"MORALES! BEHIND YOU!" In a swift motion, he turned swinging a bat straight at its head.

"Grace! One of Morales kids is heading for the woods!" Shane called out.

"You got'm?" I asked referring to Lori and the kids.

"Go! Go! GO!" With that, I took off running. Using my knife to take out walkers on the way. "Hey KID!" He kept running. "¡Cuidado!" I cried out to him. He finally turned to me. "¡Ven conmigo! Come with me!" The boy ran to me and threw his arms around me. The cries of the camp settled, and the gunshots began to slow. I picked him up and carried him back to camp. While I was looking for walkers, I heard a familiar voice call out.

"GRACE!"

"Daryl!" I whispered as I picked up the pace. "DARYL!" When we broke through the tree line, Shane and a few of the others had weapons ready. "Not bit! Not bit!"

"What about the kid?" asked a guy in a cop outfit.

"Scared out of his mind, but he's fine too." The boy jumped out of my arms and ran to Morales.

"Thank you, Amiga."

"De Nada." I whispered. When I turned, Daryl was standing by the RV. "Daryl!"

He turned to me and froze, "You okay?" I just nodded. We all looked over at Andrea. She was bent over Amy, who was choking on her own blood.

"Amy?!" Andrea cried out into the night. "What do I do?" Amy's eyes closed slowly, as Andrea cried for her to not leave.

All morning we spent sorting the bodies. "That body is a damn time bomb!" Daryl was telling Rick. "Use your gun, shoot for the brain!"

"Let her grieve!" Lori yelled at Daryl.

"What's your take on it?" Rick asked me.

"…Shouldn't wait for Amy to wake back up."

Daryl gave a small smirk, "Thank you." Rick walked up to Andrea to talk to her. Before he could say a thing, Andrea flipped around with a gun cocked to his head. Rick stood up cautiously. I turned to Daryl a little ticked, "Come on. Let's at least take care of the rest." He handed me an axe and we got to work on the corpses.

"Hey Grace! Can you help me with this one?" Jacqui pointed to a walker she was standing over. I grabbed the geek's legs, when I stood. Jim was standing by me, and I immediately notice blood on his shirt.

"Hey Jim." I pointed to his stomach, "Did you get bit?"

"Na, it's just blood from last night."

Jacqui became furious with his lying, "That's fresh! Show us now!"

He started hushing, "Be quiet."

"DARYL! Jim's bit!" I yelled. Daryl came running with a pickaxe. Jim grabbed a shovel to fight back, while T-Dog snuck up behind Jim. Daryl scuffled with Jim, when they got his shirt raised. Everyone jumped back from Jim, at the sight of a chunk of flesh missing from his side.

"I'm okay." Jim kept chanting, "It's just a scratch."

Jacqui took Jim and sat him behind the RV. Rick gathered everyone to figure out what to do next. "I say lets' put him out of his misery." Daryl huffed.

"We know what's going to happen to him. It would be a misery killing." I said putting my vote with Daryl.

"I can't believe I'm saying this. But I think Daryl is right…." Dale was trying to explain.

"PEOPLE! If we start down the road of killing the living, where does it end?" Rick asked.

"REALLY!" I yelled.

"Ever heard of zero tolerance for walkers?" Daryl growled at Rick as he picked up the pickaxe.

Rick grabbed his gun and aimed it on Daryl's head. I grabbed my knife and held it to Rick's throat. Rick looked at me, "We don't kill the living." He whispered.

"That's funny coming from you." I growled back.

Shane got in between Daryl and Jim. "We don't normally disagree, Daryl. But Rick has a point." Daryl dropped the pickaxe, shaking his head.

"Is Grace and me the only ones with any sense around here?!" He yelled.

Lori whispered to me, "Should you talk to him?"

"Give it a second."

"What…." Daryl grabbed a machete and chopped into a walker's head. When he threw the machete against the ground, I turned to Lori.

"Now, I'll talk to him."

"I swear. This happened because they left him on that roof!" He was muttering.

"Who are you mad at more?"

Daryl turned confused, "What?"

"Don't you think that he probably deserved some part of it?" I tried to explain, "Granted the whole key fiasco and bringing walkers down on themselves is their fault."

Daryl sat down and stayed quiet. He was making the face that he was thinking I was somewhat right. I sat down beside him to keep him company until he would talk. Nanook leaned to Daryl and started to nuzzle his hand to get him to play. I took out Nanook's ball and he took it out of my hands. Turned to Daryl and dropped it into his lap. Daryl finally smiled, "You are a silly dog."

Daryl was playing with Nanook as I watched the others. When I saw Rick and Shane tense up, I knew something wasn't right. I looked over to the RV, and Amy was moving. "Daryl…." I whispered.

Daryl was about to throw the ball again, when he saw it too. He grabbed his crossbow and aimed it at Amy. Before he could take a shot, Andrea put a gun to Amy's head and fired. We all stood around not knowing what to do.

The rest of us, besides Andrea, kept busy by burning the walkers. Daryl walked by me as I helped Glenn carry the other bodies to a grave. "Make me a promise, if anything should happen. If I turn, don't think twice. Just impale my head, and burn me." I whispered to him, trying not to cry.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Shut up. Don't talk like that." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Carol was giving me death glares. _What the hell woman?!_

When the last of the bodies were carried to the graves, we all stood having a small funeral. Daryl and I stood at the end of the group. I could tell he was getting anxious, because so was I. His fingers brushed by mine and instinctively I took a hold of his hand. We stood there holding on for dear life as Andrea moved her sister's body into a grave.


	3. Death of a Friend

As the funeral dispersed, I walked with Daryl back to his tent. "So what are we going to do now?"

Daryl just shrugged, "This place ain't safe, we gotta move."

"How long has this group been together?"

"Since Atlanta was taken over, so awhile." Daryl looked solemn, "Last night was the first herd I've seen."

"Daryl, Grace." We both looked over to Lori, "Meeting." Everyone stood in a circle around Rick. He was making a plea that we should go to the CDC. Where there would be food and shelter. Hopefully they could help Jim, too. _Yeah, right._

"So, I really think we should go." Rick stated, "Does anyone oppose?"

"We do." Morales replied quickly, "We have family in Birmingham. We're going there."

"If you go, you won't have any backup." Shane stated the freaking obvious.

"We know, I just don't think the CDC is a right move for my family." Morales wife said.

Rick dug through the gun bag, handed a small revolver over with a pack of bullets. "Are you freaking kidding me?" Daryl growled softly. I nudged him in the ribs to shut him up.

I walked over to say goodbye, "Amiga, I owe you for saving my son. If we run into each other again, I'll be much happy to repay."

"Keep the munchkins safe, you'll be repaying me then." I nodded to his kids.

"Stay safe Grace."

I walked over to Daryl's truck. He just finished packing up the bed of the truck. "I'll drive first. We'll switch when we stop for a break."

I let out a whistle, "Nanook! Come on, boy!" Nanook came out of the woods and jumped straight into the truck. We headed up the back of the caravan. "I got a question."

"What?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Why'd you come back for me? Did you know I was in trouble? My camp had some good distance between the Quarry."

He started to chew on a nail. "I spotted someone sifting through our supplies. I chased them into the woods." Daryl's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "I lost the creep but heard a bunch of voices. I followed and saw you hanging in the tree."

"Well...Thanks." I scratched Nanook's ear. Daryl's only response was a nod. After a few miles, I noticed Daryl sneaking glances at me. As if I was going to disappear.

"What's wrong Daryl?"

"After you moved, all those years ago, did you ever get any of my letters?"

_Letters? _"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly the jeep ahead was coming to a halt. "Nevermind." He muttered as we both jumped out.

"What's wrong?" I called out.

"DAMN RV HOSE!" Dale threw a tool. "I needed that hose off that box truck!"

"You can't rig it?" Rick asked.

Dale laughed, "It's mainly duct tape now. I need a new one."

"Hey Rick. I think I see something up ahead." Shane said holding binoculars, "I'm going to scout ahead, try and find new parts." T-Dog jumped in Shane's jeep to help him out.

Jacqui emerged from the RV freaking out. "We got a problem, it's Jim." Daryl and I had weapons ready, we rushed to get in and take Jim out. However Rick jumped between us and the door.

"NO!" He huffed, "You two stay here, I can handle it."

We both shook our heads, "Good Lord." I muttered as we went back to our posts. The next thing I knew I could feel that I was being stared at. Well, I turned to look and sure enough, Carol was giving me death glares again. "What's your problem? What have I done to offend you?"

"You're the problem. Walkers didn't start attacking us until you showed up." She barked at me.

"Excuse me?" I stepped into her way to prevent her from walking away. "I do believe I saved your ass last night! If it wasn't for me…." Daryl grabbed me by my waist and pulled me back.

"Grace, now is not the time!" He yelled at me. I tried to claw his hands off me, but it was useless. He got me to the back of the RV, telling Carol to stay towards the front. Daryl turned his back to the group, "If I have to play nice. So do you."

Rick walked out slowly minutes later, "Jim wants to be left behind."

"He's delusional again." Carol said as she tried to wipe away tears.

"Y'all are delusional for bringing him in the first place." I glared at her to buck up and shut up. Shane pulled up after his scouting. T-Dog came from the passenger side handing the hose to Dale.

Shane looked around, "What happened?"

"Jim doesn't think he's gonna make it to the CDC." Jacqui said quietly.

Shane just shook his head, "I won't feel right if we leave him behind."

Lori looked at us all like we were morons, "You can't make the call, none of you."

"Let's respect the man's last wishes." Dale chirped in.

Rick nodded to Shane to enter the RV. They immediately came out with Jim, carrying him as gently as they could. "Over here Shane." They sat Jim underneath a tree. Everyone walked up to say their goodbye. Daryl and I stood as far as we could be from Jim. Daryl just nodded to him, and Jim shot us a smirk. I lightly waved my goodbye. We all climbed back into our vehicles. Like Daryl promised, he threw me the keys and told me to drive. Nanook sat in the middle of the cab, whimpering as Jim disappeared in the distance. After a few miles, I remembered Daryl said something about letters before the RV stopped.

"Daryl?"

When he didn't answer, I looked over; he was sound asleep in the passenger seat. "Nevermind." I echoed his tone. Figuring he probably needed the sleep anyway. It wasn't long before we reached the large building. And it looked like it was probably overrun, bodies laid everywhere.

"Daryl, we're here."

Daryl stretched, "Yeah, this looks safer compared to the other camp." He rolled his eyes.

"Come on Nanook." We jumped out grabbing our clothes bags and a few weapons. Rick and Shane led the group towards the building while Daryl and I covered the back. "I don't think anybody's here."

Sure enough, our plans took a turn for the worse. Overhead doors were locked into place on the CDC. No way to get in, "Shit!" Shane yelled as he began to lay into Rick on his brilliant plan.

A groan of someone trying to breathe caught Daryl and mine's attention, "We got trouble." Shane stepped forward to help take out walkers. Through the gunfire, Rick was yelling at someone to open the doors. _Yeah, he's lost it. _I was lost in thought while fighting, that I neglected to see a walker coming my way. I heard Nanook growl as he tackled the walker. They tumbled away from the group. "Nanook!" I tried to go to help him, but I felt arms grab me and pull me towards the CDC. When the once locked overhead door came crashing down between me and the outside, I heard Nanook yelp in pain.

"Open the door." I whispered.

"Grace…."

I tried to look through tears streaming down my face, "I got to help him." I guess I did more screaming than I thought. My voice hurt just whispering.

Daryl dropped his stuff as he held me from behind. "I'm sorry." He held onto me as we both fell to our knees.

"Are any of you infected?" Someone beckoned.

_Wait…..We made it into the CDC._

"No." Rick stepped forward.

I wiped my eyes the best I could. "Bring what stuff you want, once this door closes. It will not open again." The man lowered his gun.


	4. Tattoos and Scars

We all crammed into the elevator. Daryl held me in the corner, but I could tell he was watching the doctor. "Doctors around here always pack heat?"

"When things started to go crazy, I picked one up and taught myself." He retorted, "Before I take you on the tour, I want blood samples." He shrugged, "Price of admission."

Rick was still breathing heavy, "It's okay." The elevator dinged and we all climbed out.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked.

"Are you claustrophobic?" The doctor asked.

"…A little." She whimpered.

"You're more than welcome to go back outside." I whispered.

Daryl got in between us, wrapped his arm around my neck and whispered, "Stop." I could only growl in response. We reached a cafeteria and sat around to wait our turn for the good Doctor to take blood tests. When Andrea almost passed out from her blood being drawn, the doctor decided to cook us dinner.

As Jacqui was helping him in the kitchen, I started raiding the cabinets. "And the angels sang Halleluiah." I pulled out the bottles of wine and passed them out. In the back was an unopened bottle of whiskey, I laughed when I saw it.

"What's so damn funny?" Shane interrogated. I took the bottle out and showed it to Daryl, who was trying not to blush. "Oh great; inside joke?" I could tell by Lori's face that she put two and two together.

Daryl finally smiled, "Get some glasses girl. I bet I can still out drink you."

We all were having a good time. Eating food and getting drunk, I saw even Carl tried the wine. Poor kid looked like he was ready to lose it. "That's nasty! How can y'all drink it?" We couldn't even respond to him, we were laughing so hard.

Shane looked over at Doctor Jenner, "So when are you going to tell us what happened here?"

"…..And enter Buzzkill Bob." I slurred. Daryl just laughed.

"Shane, can we enjoy the moment?" Rick protested.

"I want some answers, dammit!" Shane slammed his fist against the table.

"When the virus started, a lot of people either went home or," Dr. Jenner's face went white, "…opted out." _Can't blame him freaking out, probably thought he was only one left. _Finally when we finished eating in silence, he took us to some rooms.

The moment he said hot showers, we all froze. "You'd think we all hit the lottery." I muttered. We all split up into the available rooms. I picked one farthest from everyone else. I had just thrown my stuff on the couch when I heard a knock at the door.

"Hey Grace." Daryl shifted from side to side. "Just wanted to see if you're okay."

"Everything's fine."

He continued to fidget, "Is it okay if I bunk with you? If I bunk near that blonde chick, I'll go crazy from her cries." I smiled. "What?"

I stepped aside to let him in, "It's why I chose the room farthest from." He chuckled. "Two minds think alike?"

"Sounds like it."

"We got the bed that rolls out of the couch. Hope you don't mind sharing."

"Just don't snore."

"I do not snore! How can you remember snoring from _that _night?"

"True, we both were shitfaced." He chuckled.

"You can shower first."

He turned to me, "Ladies first." I threw my hands up in defeat and grabbed my change of clothes. With the shower cranked full blast, I soaked my sore muscles. Unconsciously I ran my fingers over every scar on my torso. _No man would want a woman that looks like a guinea pig for a voodoo doll. _When my fingers touched the scar just below my navel, I sobbed. This scar was the cause of an emergency hysterectomy from when my father killed his unborn grandchild. I finally finished and brushed my hair out. While jumping into some fresh clothes, I realized I had left my long sleeve shirt in my bag. _If he sees me, he'll flip. _Compared to ten years ago, I have quite a few more scars. _Daryl hated it when he saw me with new marks._ _Just keep that one scar covered._

Finally after fighting with myself, I opened the door.


	5. Fight Another Day

I slipped into the room. Hoping I wasn't noticed. "That asshole ripped up your tattoo." I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"I know." I said realizing Daryl was talking about my angel wings tattoos. "Now looks like I have one demon wing and one angel wing."

"You should have let me kicked his ass that day." He stood up and got uncomfortably close to me.

I took a breath, "I'm going to go…for a walk."

"Right and I need to…." He couldn't even finish his sentence as he shut the bathroom door.

I found my black zip up hoodie at the bottom of my bag. Figured that would do to roam the halls. I wandered to the rec room where Lori was scanning the bookshelf. "….Anything good?"

"A bunch." Lori laughed picking up a few. "So you have some explaining to do."

_This day can't get any more freaking awkward?! _"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh yeah little miss-oh-me-and-Daryl-weren't-anything-more-than-fr iends?" Lori chuckled, "I saw the way his face got when you showed him that bottle." She gulped down some more wine, "Hell the way he's looked at you since he carried you to camp, is what tipped me off."

"What do you mean?"

"Girl. When the group first got together," She hiccupped, "That man has not shown an ounce of compassion to anyone besides his brother." She smirked, "Until he carried you out of the woods. Screaming for me to come help." I couldn't help but blush. Lori's mouth made an O, "Come on, and tell me some dirty details."

I don't have to blame the alcohol on asking this, "I've never understand that question."

"I want to know this other side of Daryl Dixon." Lori looked at her glass, "Shit I want more."

I turned to her, "Yeah and risk getting skinned alive? I'll go get you some." I left to find the kitchen. Finding another bottle of whiskey and another wine, I dropped the whiskey off to the room. I was almost to the rec room when the door slammed in my face. "What the hell?" I put my ear up to the door and heard Shane screaming at Lori.

"I know I told you he was dead." Shane took a breath, "I put my ear up to his chest and didn't hear a thing. No one would help me because they were being executed in the halls!"

"Shane," I could hear the panic in Lori's voice.

"I love you Lori. I love Carl like he's my own."

_Whoa, freaking curveball. _"Shane," _A love triangle in the Apocalypse, where's the tabloids when you need them? _"I love Rick, my husband." _Wrong move, this is going to get bad. _For a split second I thought I should find Rick. Until I heard Lori scream, "Shane, stop it. SHANE!"

Call it a memory flashback or whatever. I opened the door and shoved Shane off Lori, "Bitch, you're assaulting a cop!"

"Yeah? Well arrest me, asshole." I shoved him again and he fell onto his back.

"…Didn't concern you…Bitch..." He stumbled trying to get up.

"Go sleep it off, Shane!" I turned to Lori, "You okay?"

"Great, now you have a bodyguard." He ranted as he left.

She just kept shaking her head, "Oh God. Don't tell Rick." Lori kept chanting until I agreed.

When I finally got her to calm down, I walked her to her room. I didn't know what else to do after that fiasco so I returned to my room. Grabbing the bottle of whiskey, I crashed on the bed taking a big swig. Slowly the dark abyss greeted me. However, it would not be a restful sleep.

_I had been out longer than I should have. Alright, so I was gone all night. Attempting to sneak into my bedroom window, I was greeted by the asshole. _

"_Where were you?"_

"…_.Out." Response to that was the usual backhand. _

"_You were at his house all night, weren't you?" He suddenly inspected me closer, "You're shitting me. You're hung-over." He grabbed me by my hair and got into my face, "That's okay. You're never going to see him again after tomorrow."_

"…_.What's tomorrow?"_

_He headed for my bedroom door, "We'll be in another city."_

_The dream then shifted, I was in the bathroom staring at two pink lines. "Oh God." I whimpered, "Oh God, what do I do?" _

_My sister barged into the bathroom, "What's wrong?" I just held the test up and her eyes went big. "Who's the father?" She questioned, I guess being older than me gives her rights to be motherly._

"_Daryl." I sobbed, "Daryl Dixon is the father."_

_She turned to the hallway, "DADDY!"_

_He stormed the bathroom, staring at the two pink lines. "You've disgraced this family." He proceeded to beat me within an inch of my life. _

"_Grace….Wake up."_

_Where's that voice coming from?_

"Dammit woman!_"_

I woke up in a jolt. Daryl had a hold of my arms and pinned underneath him. "Wha…..Wha…" I couldn't catch my breath.

"It was a bad dream. Sounded like a helluva one." I could feel that he was still soaked from his shower. He let go of my arms and sat up. I noticed a bruise starting to form on his chin.

"Shit. I'm sorry."

Daryl swallowed hard, "Do you want to talk about it?"

I looked up at him. "I've got so much to fill you in on. I don't know where to start."

"Just tell me."

I rubbed my brow, "I was pregnant."

Daryl sat there confused for a second. "Are you saying that our…."

I nodded, "You were the father."

It didn't take him long to process, "What happened….?"

"He beat me within an inch of my life. I miscarried, and they had to do an emergency hysterectomy to save me." Daryl's fist slammed on the bed. I could tell he was trying hard not to cry. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he slapped it away. "Daryl..."

He just stood up and stormed out.

The next morning, I woke up to Daryl still gone. I made my way to the bathroom to make myself look semi-presentable. As I opened the door to the hall, I threw my hoodie on and wandered to the kitchen. "Morning Grace." Rick said.

"Morning."

"Sleep okay?"

"Not really." I rubbed my eye, "How about you?"

"Best sleep I've had in a while." We reached the kitchen door, "Mmmm. Something smells good."

"Eggs! They're powdered, but I make them good." T-Dog bragged, "They help with the hangover."

Daryl walked in behind me; he didn't look at me or say anything. _Shit, did I do wrong telling him?_ I did unload a lot on him last night. I sat and ate my food quietly in a corner. Listening to the others bicker about being hung-over. Finally Dr. Jenner walked in.

"I hate to bust you with questions so early in the morning." Dale said immediately.

"You want to know what I've figured out."

They all nodded their heads. After we ate, we went back to the main computer room. He sat at a computer, and a video popped up on a big screen.

"What is that? A brain?" asked Carl.

"Yes," Jenner smiled as he showed a brain up close. He was explaining in scientific term what was going on.

"No offense, Doc, but sprechen sie English?"

Jenner snickered at me, "In those lights, is you." Everyone just looked at him to explain further. "Somewhere in these lights, is the makeup of what makes you. Memories, thinking patterns, etc." Jenner fast forwarded the video. All the blue lights were slowly being diminished by black.

"What the hell?" Rick asked.

"Whatever this virus is, it attacks the brain stem similar to meningitis." The blue lights finally faded and Jenner looked like he was relieving a horrid memory. He jumped the video to what he called the resurrection period. "The times vary, some in seconds. The longest I've heard was eight hours. In the case of TS-19, it was two hours, one minute and seven seconds."

I looked at Daryl, who shot me the same worried look. Something was not right here. "Are they still alive?" I decided to chirp in.

"No, the virus gets the bodies up and moving. It's a shell, nothing more."

Dale turned to Jenner, "So in other words, you're as clueless as us."

"We have no way of treating it. I heard France was close to a cure." Andrea suddenly looked like she was going to be sick.

"Was?" Andrea folded her arms.

"Whatever this is, it's global." I looked over Daryl's head at the clock. _Is it counting down?_

"I wanna get shitfaced drunk again." Daryl muttered.

I pointed to the clock, "Why is it counting down?"

"It's counting down until the basement generators go out." Jenner tried to say quickly.

Rick panicked, "Go out? What happens then?"

"…..Full building decontamination." Jenner said stomping off.

_I've got a bad feeling about this. _Rick and Shane ran to find the basement generators. I returned to the room. Daryl fell onto the bed and grabbed the whiskey bottle, "Let's get drunk again."

"I say let's pack up our shit and go."

"Why?" I suddenly heard the air vent shut down. I climbed on top of the bed to check. "What's wrong?"

"Air just shut off."

"Shut off?" We heard a commotion outside. Daryl went to the door, "What the hell is going on?"

Jenner walked by, "Everything is being shut down to conserve power."

"Why and what the hell does that mean?" I yelled but Jenner kept walking back to the computer room.

Everyone followed Dr. Jenner, bombarding him with questions. Rick and Shane remerged from the basement. "Dr. Jenner, why is everything being shut down?"

"It signifies the clock should be hitting the thirty minute mark. It's trying to save as much energy until the last possible second."

Rick got into Jenner's face, "When that clock goes out, what happens?"

Jenner froze, "The building is going to detonate."

Nobody said a thing; I think Shane was resisting the urge to say 'I told you so'. Rick turned to us, "Return to the rooms, everyone. Grab your things, we're leaving."

Glenn and I were the first ones at the entrance to the hall, when a door locked into place. "Did he just…"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Daryl yelled launching the bottle of whiskey at Jenner's head. Dr. Jenner tried to make a plea; that this way would be the better way to die. Sophia and Carl were freaking out huddled against their mothers.

"Open the damn door!" I yelled running back to Jenner's workstation. Daryl and Shane had axes trying to break the door down. I don't know what came over me, but I grabbed Jenner and slammed him against the computer desk. "I'm not going to say it again. Open the damn door."

For a lab geek, Jenner doesn't know his own strength. He shoved me back, and I fell to the ground. Daryl's eyes flared up as he went after Jenner with the axe. "You keep your damn hands off her." All the guys had to hold Daryl back from killing our captor.

"…None of you understand; this is our extinction." Jenner muttered as if he was trying to calm us.

Daryl walked over helped me up. He wrapped his arms around me, and watched Jenner as if the doc was going to try something again. We both grabbed the axes and went to work on the door again. I could hear Rick talking to Jenner.

"You say there is no hope. But you didn't take the easy way out like the rest."

"That's because I made a promise."

"…to who?" barked Shane.

"Test Subject 19?" asked Lori. We got the response we needed. Jenner went white.

"Why was TS-19 important?" Rick glared at Jenner.

"IT WAS HIS WIFE!" I yelled from the door.

Lori begged, "We don't want to go out like this. Please, let us try for as long as we can."

Jenner finally turned to the computer, "I can't open the doors up top." The door slid open and Daryl grabbed my hand. We took off like bats out of hell to grab our things. Daryl and I were the first ones at the top floor. Immediately checking for what could we bust through to get back to the caravan.

"Daryl!" Shane yelled as he tossed an axe to him. They got to work on a window, but it was like the damn blast door. T-Dog grabbed a chair and launched it, but it just bounced back. Shane took his shotgun, but it didn't even leave a dent.

"We're stuck!" Sophia yelled.

"Rick I have something." Carol called as she pulled out a grenade. "It was in your clothes when I was washing."

"Did it cross your mind to share with the class earlier? When we was doing the weapons check?" I yelled at her.

Rick pointed to a safe area. Daryl grabbed me and pinned me down. When Rick landed beside me, the window blew out. "We have three minutes. Move! MOVE, MOVE!" Rick ordered.

Daryl and I jumped out the window, and helped everyone down. "Walkers!" Carl cried out. I turned and laid out a cover fire. Daryl tapped me on the shoulder when everyone was clear of the building. We ran flat out back to the truck.

He almost started it, when his face went white. "Get down," He said as he covered me in the cab.

All that could be heard was the building collapsing.


	6. You Found Me

We sat up slowly, trying to catch our breaths. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I said as he started the truck and we were off to get away from the burning remnants of the CDC.

We pulled over in some rest area. I found out that Jacqui took Jenner's offer. Andrea almost took the offer, but Dale wouldn't have it. The new plan was to head to Fort Benning. To prepare for this trip, Rick wanted us to siphon gas from every car possible and we would be ditching two of our cars. Daryl was standing by some sort of SUV, "Hey Grace!" I ran over to him. He pointed to a dirt bike hiding behind the SUV. "Want to see if it still runs? Two scouts will be better than one." I immediately got to work on it. Daryl smirked when the engine finally turned over. "Damn girl, you are too awesome."

"Full tank and engine's running fine." Daryl's hand rubbed my back. He saw Lori standing by a Mustang, sifting through the trunk and watching us.

"Alright guys, let's get ready to hit the road in five minutes." Rick called out. "Daryl you lead on your bike. Dale you follow in the RV. Behind Dale will be us. Grace…"

"I'm riding right by Daryl." Rick finally took notice to the new bike.

"Alright, looks like we have two scouts." I threw my bag over my shoulders and started the bike. We got on the interstate, in the order Rick had told us to go. There was open road for a couple of hours, until slowly Daryl and I saw some sort of car blockade.

"What the hell?" Daryl yelled. We slowed down, "Go ahead, see how far we can get." I nodded in reply and shot past SUV after SUV. The RV creeped into the graveyard of cars, it wasn't long until the annoying sound of a radiator hose going out. I turned around to head back.

"…Dead in the water." Dale shook his head, "Where are we going to find parts here?"

Daryl and I started rummaging through a couple cars. "Guys, what are you doing?" Lori stared at us like we were thieves, "This is a graveyard." Rick turned to her, "I don't know how I feel about this."

"They ain't gonna miss it." I muttered, "Besides, we can get more fuel this way."

T-Dog perked up, "I'm game on scavenging." He immediately grabbed a gas can and a hose.

Rick finally saw our side, "Grace, Lori, and Carol look for anything we can use. Anything if it's food, meds, whatever. Daryl and T-Dog start siphoning fuel."

Glenn stood there, "….And me?"

Dale handed over a flat head screwdriver, "You're going to help with the hose."

We all spread out on the interstate. Lori was a couple cars behind me, "Is Carl and Sophia with you, Grace?"

"They're right here helping me. Don't worry, the car's empty of bodies."

Lori just nodded and shot me a smile. Carol, however, looked all too displeased. "Sophia, baby. Can you come help me?"

"I'm helping Carl, Momma."

"Then stay in my sight," Sophia made a face. I laughed from being reminded how I did the same thing to my father.

Dale climbed on top of the RV. I shot a glance at him once in a while just to make sure the coast was clear. While digging through a Civic, I heard Rick whispering, "Get underneath the cars."

_Shit, this ain't good. _"Sophia, Carl. Get down." I pointed to a beat up Bronco and a Jeep. _Someone's got to warn Daryl. _However, it was too late, I saw a few walkers heading my way. I threw myself underneath an old F150. Far to the kids left, were Carol and Lori hiding under what looked like a Hummer. Lori had a hold of Carol's mouth.

Slowly but surely, all that was heard was the shuffling and moaning of the walkers. I kept looking at the kids, motioning for them to stay put and be quiet. It seemed like we were going to be stuck here for a while. After what seemed like hours, Rick was trying to look to see if they were indeed gone. I slid out slowly to peek and Sophia seemed to follow my lead. "No Sophia!" I whispered.

Sure enough I was right, a walker seen Sophia. She screamed as she crawled out from underneath the jeep. I crawled out from underneath the F150, and saw Rick run after Sophia and the Walkers. "Oh God." Carol was in full blown panic, "They're after my baby." Lori was trying to get a hold of Carol. Carol shot past me, and went straight into the woods.

"Stupid bitch." I grabbed my bag and ran after Carol.

"Sophia!" Carol called out as she ran. I finally caught up to her and tackled her to the ground. She flipped around and started to claw my neck in an attempt to choke me. I meant to just cover her mouth to get her to shut up, but I slapped her in the process.

"Shhhhh! It's just me!" I took a breath, "You have to be quiet! We don't need everyone running through the woods with that herd nearby." She finally started to calm down, "Now, go back to the RV. Rick and I will bring her back."

Carol nodded her head in agreement. I stood up and turned my back to her to figure which way she should go. "That's my daughter being chased." I turned to question her, and the bitch chucked a rock at my head.

I tried not to scream as I felt the rock connect. When I looked around for Carol, she had disappeared further into the woods. Blood oozed from a new cut on my head, "Great, one to add to the collection." I took my bandana and used it to cover up the fresh cut. Using the tracking skills Daryl taught me, I followed Carol.

I found her footprints and headed further into the woods. The nausea and throbbing in my head began to mess with my sense of direction. I leaned up against a tree to take a break. Suddenly I froze when I heard some rustling behind me. I turned slowly to be met by three walkers heading straight for me.

I went to grab my machete, and it was not on me. I suddenly realized that I had lost my bag too. "Shit." _Where did I lose them? _The only thing I had was the small boot knife. No way could I take on all three, so I turned and ran. I broke through a tree line and found myself standing near an old farmhouse. An old pickaxe sat by the front door.

"….Better than nothing."

I ran as fast as I could for the pickaxe. Two of the Walkers caught up to me. I took the first one out with ease. The second attempted to reach around the corpse to get to me. "Not today!" I got the pickaxe free and used it to shove the Walker back. She stumbled back but it didn't faze her at all. I swung my weapon and hit her in the eye. The corpse made a final gurgle and dropped. When I tried to take back my weapon, the handle broke. "Shit." I looked for the final Walker. He was a bit slower due to a bum foot. I grabbed the metal out of the woman corpse's eye. The male Walker was almost to me. I took the opportunity to knock him over. He tried to get up but I stabbed him in the forehead.

I fell over breathing heavy. "Night, night bastard." I felt myself begin to lose consciousness. _I shouldn't be in the open. _After crawling into the house, I fell into the abyss and praying a corpse won't find me.

_I sat in a corner crying my eyes out. The bloody knife shook in my hand. "Gracie!" He growled. "OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" _

_"How could you, you son of a bitch!" I yelled. "I'm your daughter!"_

_The bathroom door bowed as he continued to pound. "If you come out now. I'll make sure your punishment isn't severe?"_

_I scoffed, "Really? What are you going to do? Make sure the marks are in places less conspicuous?" I heard the door crack as he slammed his body into it. "Shit." The only way out of here was through the window. I attempted to lift it but the window was nailed shut. "Damn it!" I used the hilt of my knife and smashed the glass. _

_"Grace! What are you doing?" He started to pound harder. __I used a towel to lay over the broken pane. As I climbed through a shard of glass ripped into my left arm. I cried out in pain as I heard the door burst into shreds. "Grace!" My father scrambled to catch me. I raced through the backyard, slipping in the mud. _

_The door I came to was dimly lit. I pounded on the door until my sister answered. "What do you want?" Gwen sounded frustrated. _

_"He's at it again." I held up my bloody arm. _

_She rolled her eyes. "Get in here."_

_I sat at the table as she gathered thread, a needle and her full bottle of whiskey. "How can I stop him? His cop buddies bail him out every time I try to get help."_

_Gwen just rolled her eyes. "I don't need to tell you this is going to hurt." She prepared her needle with the thread and used the whiskey to sterilize. I jumped at the first prick. "Sit still."_

_I tried keeping my mind occupied, "Can you talk or distract me?" Gwen just narrowed his eyes at me. "What is your problem?" Her phone rang, "Shit! It's him!" I started to squirm._

_"Will you calm down!" She got up and went to the living room. "Dad?" I got up and followed Gwen. She didn't see me as I overheard her yell at Dad. "I told you not to get me into this shit." _

_"You bitch." I wrapped my arm up and grabbed her bottle of whiskey. Gwen's cellphone sat on the counter by the door. Having remembered Daryl's number, I snatched the mobile. _

_I need you. Meet our spot?-G._

_As I ran out the door, I tossed her phone into the trashcan. I made it to the pond in the middle of the woods. Daryl and I found it while hunting. I fell to my knees and began to cry. "Grace?" I heard footsteps behind me. _

_"Dar...yl?" I wiped my eyes. He immediately saw the blood drips on my arm. _

_"What the hell?" I unwrapped my arm. Daryl's face went from a sickly green to pissed off red. "What did he do?"  
_

_I took a swig of the whiskey. "I did it trying to escape." _

_He inspected the wound and sighed. "I think I can sew you up, but it ain't going to be pretty."_

_"So what," I shrugged. He shot me a sly smirk. _

_"Hand me that bottle." I handed the whiskey bottle over and expected him to pour some on my arm. "Hey!? Shouldn't my doctor be sober?" _

_He wiped his mouth, "Well I ain't a doctor. I already warned you." __We both chuckled as he continued to sew the wound. "You want to tell me what happened? Why did you have to escape?"_

_"He tried..." I choked back tears. __Daryl tied the thread off as he finished. _"He...shoved..me..onto my...bed." 

_"He what?" Daryl growled like an animal. _

_"Don't leave me. Just stay with me." I pleaded. We both blacked out somewhere between the half label to the bottom of the bottle. _

I woke up in the abandoned farmhouse. A door slammed against the wall. "Shit..." I whispered as I crawled to a corner to hide. My head throbbed and spun, almost making me pass out again. My heart pounded as I watched the doorway for Walkers. I covered my mouth trying to muffle my breathing. _Please just move along. _The floor creaked as something moved closer.

I jumped as a shadow fell over me. "Grace?"

Daryl lowered his crossbow. I jumped up and hugged him. "You found me."

He sat me down and inspected my head, "What the hell happened to you?"


End file.
